pre-dawn start,
temperatures above
30 degrees, and snakes on the
road didn’t stop Charles Sturt
University (CSU) and Indigenous
Marathon Project (IMP) runner
Ms Elise Hull from completing a
30-kilometre run at Alice Springs
on Sunday 15 September.
The run qualified Ms Hull,
a Bachelor of Arts student and
Indigenous resource officer in the
CSU Division of Student Learning
in Bathurst, for the IMP squad to
contest the New York Marathon in
November.
She said the event was a
great test of individual and team
endurance and mental strength.
“We were warned there would
be hardly any supporters out, and
that a lot of the time we would be
running by ourselves,” Ms Hull
said. “Running by myself was a
great reminder that only I can get
me through this test, relying on my
own stamina, mental toughness,
and the training I’ve done.
“For the first time yet, all 12
squad members selected made it
all the way through to the Alice
Springs IMP camp,” she said.
“Usually, there is drop-out due to
injury or personal reasons, but all
12 of us ran, and there were a small
handful of supporters. I was lucky
enough to have the mayor of Alice
Springs and his daughter walk
beside me for a while towards the
end, encouraging me on.”
Ms Hull said the event was
due to start at 5.30am, but a prior
car accident delayed the event
when police blocked the road.
Australian marathon champion and
IMP Project Director, Mr Robert
de Castella, negotiated with the
emergency crews to let the squad
jog past.
“We still managed to start off

Elise Hull in the City to Surf in September. Image supplied

in the pitch black, but the sun rose
very quickly and the heat really set
in,” Ms Hull said. “The temperature
reached the 30s pretty quickly, and
I even saw a snake on the road
around the 22 kilometre mark, but
I thought I was hallucinating at that
point.
“My time for the 30 kilometres
was three hours 33 minutes,
towards the back of the pack.
“I was feeling fine up until
around the 20 kilometre mark.
Having previously not run further
than 21 kilometres, I was tired,
I was hot, I was so thirsty, and I

was in a lot of pain from my back
injury. What really got me through
was thinking about my daughter,
Olivia, and all the people who have
supported me through this - friends,
family, work colleagues, and IMP
fundraisers. There were lots of
people who tried out for the team
and weren’t successful, so the least
I could do is to make the most of
this opportunity.”
Ms Hull said she gained several
lessons about marathon running
from the Alice Springs event.
“Starting out easy is a huge
lesson; learning not to rush things,
Page 1

and settling into a pace which is
comfortable for me. I was fortunate
enough to be able to practice this
in the 30 kilometre run, picking a
pace which I could stick close to.
This run was also good training
for re-fuelling techniques, finding
out how much water we needed,
using energy gels, etc. I think the
biggest thing I learnt was that
despite the pain, it’s amazing what
our body will let us keep doing.
And that when you’re finished, the
sense of accomplishment, the self
confidence and pride makes the
pain a distant memory!
“Apart from the birth of my
daughter, being selected for the
IMP squad for NY is easily the next
biggest thing for me in my whole
life. This week marks the one year
anniversary of me running for the
first time ever. I would never have

Page 2

dreamt of, or imagined, being
six weeks out now from the New
York Marathon and actually being
selected for it.”
In the six weeks until the NY
Marathon, individuals in the squad
will be doing a few more long runs,
and improving their fitness levels.
“This six-week block is the most
important for us in terms of getting
all our training done, making sure
our health is at its best, and really
focusing on the goal,” Ms Hull said.
“We have a pre-departure camp
in the last few days of October,
staying in Bondi and doing a few
media appearances. The IMP can’t
afford advertising, so it’s important
we get the word out about the
project via media. We fly out of
Sydney in early November, in time
to shake off the jet lag and prepare
for what’s going to be the biggest

race of my life.”
The Alice Springs 30-kilometre
trial was only for the IMP squad,
although past IMP squad members
Mr Charlie Maher and Mr Korey
Summers, both from Alice Springs,
ran too. Of the 12 in the 2013 IMP
squad, 11 are going to the New
York Marathon, with one woman
from the squad now training
instead for the Boston Marathon in
February 2014, due to injury.
People can follow the IMP
team’s progress via Facebook,
Twitter, or online. Ms Hull is also
fundraising with the aim to raise
at least $2 000 for the Indigenous
Marathon Project. Her page can be
found here. The principal partner
of the Indigenous Marathon Project
is the federal Department of Health
and Ageing.

Elise on the run to new york

A pre-dawn start, temperatures above 30 degrees, and snakes on the road didn’t stop Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP) runner Ms Elise Hull from completing a 30-kilometre run at Alice Springs on Sunday 15 September. The run qualified Ms Hull, a Bachelor of Arts student and Indigenous resource officer in the CSU Division of Student Learning in Bathurst, for the IMP squad to contest the New York Marathon in November.